For the first time in two years, the Boone County government is “getting back to normal” and no longer budgeting with uncertainty due to the pandemic.
On Thursday evening, Boone County Fiscal Court held a special meeting to hear the proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2023 from Judge/Executive Gary Moore and county administrator Jeff Earlywine. The meeting also covered proposals from department heads, as well as a capital projects plan.
Earlywine said the government body was moving cautiously these last two years due to the unpredictability of the pandemic. Since the surge of cases seen across the country due to the last variant, Omicron, COVID-19 cases in Kentucky have steeply declined, as have complications caused by the number of cases.
Still, Boone County is considering contingencies for inflation reaching a record high since the 1980s, ongoing problems with supply chains and increased prices for construction materials. That said, Earlywine said this budget is “aggressive” compared to the budgets of the last two years.
Earlywine’s budget proposal includes:
- Increasing the budget for the Boone County Sheriff’s Office by $5 million, largely due to a pay increase for sheriff’s employees and state requirements related to how Kentucky distributes funding to county law enforcement and increases in state pensions.
- Increasing TANK contribution to $822,000 due to a new system route design across all three counties. The redraw will increase services to Boone County, and coverage on shifts, weekends and holidays.
- Workforce compensation increases for both inflation, to remain competitive, and to add new positions. Earlywine proposed a 3% increase in compensation for inflation and to attract and retain employees. This would affect both the sheriff’s department and county government staff. He added Boone County experienced a 20% turnover rate in both 2021 and is on pace for the same turnover rate this year.
- Commodities affected by inflation, like concrete, asphalt and food for inmates at the county jail.
The capital projects proposal included an update on progress for the new animal shelter, budgeted road maintenance, and suggestions to expand parking lots at local soccer fields to accommodate their growing popularity.
From here, the Boone County Fiscal Court will hear public comment on the budget at its next meeting, Tuesday, May 31. Kentucky requires counties to have an approved budget for the next fiscal year by June 30, which marks the end of the current fiscal year.
Thursday’s 3-hour workshop and other archived meetings can be viewed at boonecountyky.gov under the dropdown “Administration” menu, on the “Fiscal Court Videos” page.
